1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a spindle drive for a movable component, in particular for a component that can be swiveled about a swivel axis. The spindle drive is drivable by a drive and includes a threaded spindle which is rotatable about its spindle axis and on which there is disposed, in a non-self-locking manner, a spindle nut by which a transmission element that is connected to the component can be driven so as to be movable axially relative to the spindle axis. The transmission element, secured in respect of rotation about the spindle axis, is connected to the swiveling component.
2. Description of the Related Art
Known in the art, in the case of such a spindle drive for an automatically actuated vehicle door, is the practice of using an electric-motor drive for rotatably driving the threaded spindle via a gearing and a disconnectable clutch.
Manual application of force to the vehicle door can be detected by a sensor, and a corresponding signal can be supplied to electronic control means. The electronic control means then controls the clutch so as to decouple the drive from the threaded spindle, such that the vehicle door can be moved easily by hand.
In this case, driving of the spindle via a clutch requires a large amount of structural space. Moreover, the clutch is an elaborate and expensive component.